Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39847351›Full record

ArticleJAMA network open2025

Medicare Risk Arrangement and Use and Outcomes Among Physician Groups.

Ken R Cohen, Boris Vabson, Jennifer Podulka, Nathan J Smith, Erica Everhart, Omid Ameli, Kierstin Catlett, Megan S Jarvis, Caroline Goldzweig, Julie H Kuo and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JAMA network open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. What is Medicare Advantage and Why is it the Most Important Contemporary Policy Affecting Kidney Disease?American journal of kidney diseases : the official journal of the National Kidney Foundation · 2026
    Review
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Ken R CohenOptum Center for Research and Innovation, Minnetonka, Minnesota.
Boris VabsonDepartment of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
Jennifer PodulkaAmerica's Physician Groups, Washington, DC.
Nathan J SmithCareJourney by Arcadia, Arlington, Virginia.
Erica EverhartCareJourney by Arcadia, Arlington, Virginia.
Omid AmeliOptum Center for Research and Innovation, Minnetonka, Minnesota.
Kierstin CatlettOptum Center for Research and Innovation, Minnetonka, Minnesota.
Megan S JarvisOptum Center for Research and Innovation, Minnetonka, Minnesota.
Caroline GoldzweigCedars-Sinai Medical Network, Los Angeles, California.
Julie H KuoHill Physicians Medical Group, San Ramon, California.
Susan DentzerAmerica's Physician Groups, Washington, DC.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Importance: Many physician groups are in 2-sided risk payment arrangements with Medicare Advantage plans (at-risk MA). Analysis of quality and health resource use under such arrangements may inform ongoing Medicare policy concerning payment and service delivery. Objective: To compare quality and efficiency measures under 2 payment models: at-risk MA and fee-for-service (FFS) MA. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cross-sectional study used Medicare encounter and enrollment data from 2016 to 2019 covering 17 physician groups, 15 488 physicians, and 35 health insurers to compare quality and health resource use for Medicare beneficiaries within the same physician groups. The data were analyzed between August 4 and October 30, 2024. Exposures: Care delivered under at-risk MA and FFS MA payment arrangements by the same physicians and medical groups. Main Outcomes and Measures: Twenty quality and efficiency measures across 4 domains of patient care (hospital care, avoidance of the emergency department [ED], avoidance of disease-specific admissions, and outpatient care) were examined using logistic regression analysis. Results: The overall sample comprised 5 278 717 person-years (37.7% at-risk MA and 62.3% FFS MA). The mean (SD) age of beneficiaries was 73.6 (9.2) years in the at-risk MA group (56.8% women) and 71.8 (10.4) years in the FFS MA group (57.4% women). For at-risk MA compared with FFS MA, inpatient admissions and 30-day readmissions per 1000 were 10.03 (95% CI, -10.61 to -9.44) and 1.95 (95% CI, -2.18 to -1.73) lower. ED use measures per 1000 ranged from 2.95 (95% CI, -3.28 to -2.63) lower for avoidable ED visits to 26.02 (95% CI, -26.92 to -25.12) lower for overall ED visits. Avoidance of disease-specific admissions per 1000 ranged from 0.24 (95% CI, -0.35 to -0.13) lower for composite diabetes-related admissions to 2.18 (95% CI, -2.43 to -1.94) lower for the composite of chronic disease-related admissions. High-risk drug use per 1000 was 14.26 (95% CI, -14.85 to -13.67) lower. Overall, compared with FFS MA, at-risk MA was associated with higher quality and efficiency in 18 of 20 measures after adjusting for differences in demographics, Hierarchical Condition Categories Risk Adjustment Factor scores, and other health characteristics. Conclusions and relevance: In this cross-sectional study, at-risk MA payment arrangements managed by physician groups were associated with higher quality and efficiency compared with FFS MA managed by the same groups. The population and methods used provide robust evidence that at-risk payment arrangements in MA may improve health care delivery for the MA population.

Indexed as

Fee-for-Service PlansMedicareMedicare Part CPhysiciansAgedCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMaleQuality of Health CareUnited States

Identifiers

PMID39847351
PMCPMC11758596

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.